Sail of Stone

January 2, 2012
Two amorphous mysteries slowly take shape in Edwardson’s fifth novel featuring Chief Insp. Erik Winter of the Gothenburg police (after 2007’s Frozen Tracks). When Axel Osvald, whose daughter Winter was once involved with, disappears in Scotland while looking into the presumed drowning of his father, John Osvald, during WWII, Winter goes to Scotland in search of answers. Meanwhile, African-Swedish policewoman Aneta Djanali can’t let go of the case of Anette Lindsten, a possible victim of domestic violence who’s reluctant to let the authorities investigate. A puzzled Djanali and her colleague, Fredrik Halders, try to locate Lindsten and make sense out of the complicated tangle of her relationships after she goes missing. Edwardson’s ambling story reveals more about the complex psychology of Winter and Djanali than it does about crime or criminals. Agent: Peter Riva, International Transactions.

February 15, 2012
A pair of fresh cases for Erik Winter and Aneta Djanali, of the Gothenburg Police. Though she hasn't made any complaints herself, her neighbors have repeatedly indicated that Anette Lindsten has been attacked. Responding to the latest report, Aneta gets barely a glimpse of the alleged victim before she's turned away. In the absence of a complainant, her inquiries must begin in speculation. The likeliest person to have beaten Anette is her live-in lover, legal archivist Hans Forsblad. Before building a case against Forsblad, however, Aneta's first order of business is to get Anette out of her house. Imagine her surprise when, on a return visit, she finds Anette's father and brother packing up her things--and then her even greater surprise when she learns that Anette has no brother and that the solicitous men were a pair of thieves. Winter, meanwhile, is chasing his own will-o'-the-wisp at the urging of his old girlfriend Johanna Osvald, who's worried because her fisherman father Axel has vanished during a trip to Scotland. It soon becomes clear that Axel was investigating the disappearance of his own father, John Osvald, from a fishing trawler during the war. "Yet another generation of Osvalds takes off to look for the last one," muses Winter (The Shadow Woman, 2010, etc.). But that's the only thing that's clear about a case that will take Winter himself to Scotland in quest of sightings of either Johanna's father or her grandfather. The detection in both cases is as inexorable and tedious as water chipping away stone. Recommended for readers with a taste for cold climates and a lot of time on their hands.

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October 15, 2011

While Chief Inspector Erik Winter of the Gothenburg police searches for a man apparently searching for his father--who supposedly died in World War II--a possible victim of domestic abuse leaves cryptic messages for Winter's colleague, African-Swedish female detective Aneta Djanali. This new case of the Scandinavian blues comes highly recommended; the much-translated Edwardson is a three-time winner of the Swedish Crime Writers' Award.

Copyright 2011 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

February 1, 2012
Crimes on land and sea are perpetrated on the pages of Edwardson's latest thriller to feature Swedish Chief Inspector Erik Winter (after The Shadow Woman, 2010). This time around, the Gothenburg investigator is on the trail of a missing person (or possibly two). Winter's former love interest, Johanna Osvald, fears foul play when her father disappears in Scotland while searching for his father, who was thought to have died in WWII. (Was Johanna's grandfather really lost at sea, or could he still be alive and wandering Scotland's foggy streets?) Meanwhile, Winter's colleague, Swedish African detective Aneta Djanali, becomes immersed in the case of an abused wife whose family is clearly hiding something. While Winter's sleuthing takes him to Scotland, Detective Djanali remains on the home front, gathering evidence that puts her at greater and greater risk. Fans of Stieg Larsson and Henning Mankell will appreciate the swift pacing and compelling cast in this A-level Scandinavian mystery series.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2012, American Library Association.)